Sound familiar?Oakville
- The call
- After a wet summer the entry door sits lower in its frame. The lock works perfectly when the door is open, but with it shut you have to lift the handle and shoulder the door to get the deadbolt to throw.
The old skeleton key still fits the keyhole, but it now needs a jiggle, a lean on the door and a little luck before the bolt moves. Last week it took three tries.
In plain words
Occasionally a case really is finished, with a cracked body, a bolt worn to a sliver or a hub broken in two, and the answer is a replacement that respects the door. Reproduction mortise cases are made in common vintage sizes and backsets, and a modern case with a pin-tumbler cylinder can fit many old pockets with little woodwork once its faceplate and hub also line up. The locksmith measures the case, backset, faceplate and trim spacing before ordering, aiming for the new case to drop in with your original knobs and escutcheons going back on. From the hallway, the door looks untouched; it just works.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service · Oakville
How the visit goes
Scene 1
Repair, replacement cylinder or replacement case
The last step of the check is deciding what the lock needs, in plain terms, before any of it is done. Most cases need cleaning, springs and adjustment, and that is the recommendation. A cylinder lock with a worn plug may be better served by a new mortise cylinder of the same thread and cam, keeping the case. A cracked case, a bolt worn thin or a hub broken through calls for a replacement case in the same pocket, and the locksmith measures for it on the spot. You hear which of these applies and why, and if the answer is a replacement case, the choice between a reproduction and a modern case is yours to make.
Scene 2
Taking the lock out without marking the door
Removal is done in a set order so nothing is forced. The knob set screws are backed off and the knobs and spindle drawn out, then the escutcheons are lifted away, their screw positions photographed for reassembly. On a cylinder lock, the small set screw in the faceplate is released and the cylinder is unthreaded from the case. The faceplate screws come out, and the case is eased from its pocket with a gentle rock, never a pry bar, because the wood at the edge of an old door is thin. Everything that comes off is bagged and labelled, and the pocket is looked at while it is empty.
Scene 3
Keys that fit the lock, and a spare
You are handed keys made to the restored lock, counted into your hand, and each one is tried in the door before the locksmith drives away. For a bit-key lock that means keys filed to your case; copying one needs the right blanks and equipment, which most hardware counters do not stock, so the locksmith keeps the record needed to make more. For a cylinder lock it means keys cut to the new combination, with any old keys now useless. Keep one spare somewhere other than the door, ideally with a neighbour or in a lockbox, and treat bit keys gently: they bend in a pocket and a bent key is how most of these locks become stiff again.
In the van
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
- Deadbolt lever springs
- Mortise cylinder and cam
- Light lock oil
- Cylinder set screw
What shapes the quoteEnnisclare Park Locksmith Specialists
- Extras you choose on the day
- A high-security cylinder, a lockbox for a spare bit key or a separate modern deadbolt above the original are optional additions. None is required to make the old lock work, and each is priced as its own line.
- Number of locks in the visit
- One entry lock is the simplest case. A whole floor of interior latches, or the front and back doors together, is a longer visit, and each case is quoted on its own so the total is easy to follow.
- Paint and seized parts
- Hardware buried under decades of paint takes time to free and clean without damage. A faceplate, strike and thumb-turn that have to be stripped back add to the visit and are noted in the quote.
FeesSame any hour
Curious about the process?
Does a rented home need the landlord involved for this work?
Repairing a lock so it works as before is ordinary maintenance, but anything that changes who can open the door, such as a rekeyed cylinder or new keys, is something a tenant and landlord are expected to agree on and share keys for. The locksmith asks up front who should receive keys and can leave a note of what was done for the property manager, so both sides know what is on the door.
How should I look after the lock once it is serviced?
A drop of the right lock oil into the latch and bolt once a year is plenty. If the lock has a pin-tumbler cylinder, use whatever lubricant that cylinder's maker specifies, since some take a dry graphite or PTFE product and others a specified liquid one. Try the latch and deadbolt each spring and fall; if the bolt starts to scrape, the strike wants a small adjustment before anything is strained. Keep bit keys out of a pocket where they bend.
Will the door look any different afterwards?
Usually not, when the original case is repaired: the same knobs, escutcheons, faceplate and strike go back on in the same positions, and the only visible change is paint or grime cleared from the edges that were catching. A replacement case is chosen to match the pocket so original trim is reused wherever spacing allows, though an occasional case needs a small pocket or fixing change, explained beforehand.
Change or Rekey Locks
- Deadbolt InstallationThe front door has a handsome lever and a keyed knob, and that is all.
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeThe keys the seller handed over came in a sandwich bag: six unlabelled copies for two locks of different makes from different…
- Smart Lock InstallationThe deadbolt is a stiff double-cylinder model that needs a key from both sides, and in the dark hallway finding it is a nuisance.
- Gate & Building Entry LocksA visitor buzzes from the panel downstairs, someone presses the button by the door, and nothing happens.
- Mailbox Lock ReplacementSomeone tried to pry the little door on the mailbox open with a screwdriver, and though the mail sitting inside is untouched, the…
Oakvilleinformation
HaltonOntario
Vintage Mortise Lock Service · Clearview, Ennisclare Park, Falgarwood
- Town
- Oakville, Halton
- In business
- 20 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7
- Nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 815-4609
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
2021 census: what it means at the door
Every square is one home in a hundred.
- 27 in 100 homes · newer homes
- 59 in 100 homes · mixed housing
- About 27% of homes in Oakville were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.Where housing is new, garage entries, side doors and the front door were usually fitted at the same time but not always to the same key. Keying them alike is a small job that makes the household's ring simpler from the start.
- Single-detached houses make up about 59% of homes in Oakville (2021 Census).Where housing is mixed, the same street can hold a solid wood front door, a steel townhouse door and a metal-clad suite door. A locksmith fits each with hardware suited to its construction, so every neighbour ends up with a door that locks properly.
On-site assessment
Request a visit.
The old skeleton key still fits the keyhole, but it now needs a jiggle, a lean on the door and a little luck before the bolt moves.
(289) 815-4609, open 24/7.